Qing "General Xuan Zhen" Mu
About
Mu Qing, also known as General Xuan Zhen, is a popular Martial God who oversees the southwest with a total of seven thousand temples dedicated to his palace. Eight hundred years ago, he was the personal attendant of Xie Lian and was responsible for household chores like washing his clothes and dressing him.
Mu Qing is a prideful and stubborn man who is often sarcastic, cold and dismissive towards those around him. The overarching theme of Mu Qing’s personality is the clash between his scornful exterior and his actual intent. In the eyes of others, he is perceived as someone selfish and cold-hearted, someone who wouldn't perform kind deeds or put himself in danger to help people. Xie Lian describes him as someone narrow-minded, sensitive, petty and skeptical who is constantly offending other people, but still possesses principles. According to him, Mu Qing is spiteful enough to spit in someone's cup, but not malicious enough to poison it. Mu Qing himself denies this however, disgusted by the idea of spitting into someone’s cup. Eventually it is shown that Mu Qing is indeed someone caring and thoughtful, yet due to his usually cold, sneering demeanor, people assume the worst of him whenever he does try to do good or they simply don’t believe him.
Examples of such instances would be people accusing him of theft when he tried to bring his mother cherries, being arrested for supposedly causing Cuo Cuo’s death although he tried to help the child’s mother or him being suspected of trying to murder Feng Xin when Mu Qing struck him unconscious in an attempt to carry him out the burning Heavenly Capital since Feng Xin refused to leave on his own. Mu Qing also carries false conceptions of others. He is convinced that Xie Lian, as well as Feng Xin, both despise him, wouldn’t hesitate to attack him and wouldn’t believe the good intent behind his actions. He is someone who deeply loves his own life and fears death, but still willingly puts himself in harm's way for those he cares about despite of that. He refused Jun Wu’s demand to hurt Xie Lian although Jun Wu is incredibly superior in power. In addition, Mu Qing threw also himself into battle with the lava creatures to buy Xie Lian time, aware of the incredible danger. He has a short temper and is quick to berate others, but his irritation was truly ignited when someone reminded him of when he was a servant under Xie Lian. During his years as a servant, he was frequently bullied and looked down upon by the other disciples and his teacher, thus he was forced to rely on Xie Lian for protection. In the end he has managed to work through this and is no longer easily offended by these reminders.
Mu Qing has a pragmatic nature and adapts to the circumstances he's in, basing his decisions on the long term effects. This was shown when he explained his perspective on the deceased general whose tomb they discovered, saying you have to kill to survive as a soldier even if you feel it's an injustice.
Another case would be Mu Qing not defending Xie Lian on the spiritual mountain and asking him to leave in order to not risk his place in the Heavenly Court, so he could later help Xie Lian and Feng Xin with the resources he gained access to.
Mu Qing is a person who focuses heart and mind on his cultivation, expanding his territory and growing believers.
He has a soft and gentle voice, a contrast to his usually petty and sneering speech. He appears "elegant like a gentle scholar," and despite being born poor, he still has great presence and fits in with the other Heavenly Officials.
(Source: Heaven Official's Blessing Wiki)
